Updated 4/9/17 The Singing Nurse Health Tip #2

I am turning 60 this year(62 now) and want to increase my energy and better my overall health. I’ve been trying to make my activity more intense and eating more healthy. I’ve been trying to get creative with my workouts, and with summer weather here, being outdoors is so refreshing. I have come across some great resources that are fun and encouraging. If you hang out with kids, I know you like fun, and who doesn’t thrive on loads of encouragement.

Being healthy does not have to be expensive, nor does healthy living have to be boring. The main motivator though, is, “do you want it?’. Sometimes we are forced to change our choices because of health reason or a health crisis. Hopefully, if we are willing to learn and live wise, we can live well-rounded lives before a crisis ever develops.  Being stronger may even prevent injuries and keep us out of the emergency room.

So, I will share my ideas and give you the resources that I have discovered.

Resource # 1.

I’ve been listening to a great Podcast called “Body Do Over”. Two guys talk back and forth about workouts, eating, weight loss plateaus and myths in the fitness world. John is the knowledgeable trainer and Matt is the eager trainee with all the questions. The podcast is lots of fun, very enthusiastic and encouraging. Kelly, a nutrition and training expert has joined the team to give a well-rounded approach to healthy eating of course, that makes you want to keep on track. There is a free quick start PDF over at BodyDoOver.com, very helpful.

Podcast BodyDoOver

Resource #2

Body Do Over has several days of Cardio/Sprint workouts. So I have included my deck as my workout space on those days. I set the alarm on my smartphone to start with a 5 min warm-up of walking and arm swinging, then set the alarm for every 1 minute to do intervals of brisk walking and stair climbing. So it is 5 min warm-up, 20 mins of intense walking and stairs and a 5 min cool down of walking or stretching. You can listen to your favorite music or I like to listen to the podcast over again which gives continual encouragement and motivation.

Resource #3

Cool Healthy Apps

There are a couple apps that I like that can also help track your progress and even help you while you are away from your usual workout space.

“Nexercise” is an awesome app which helps you track your workouts, it gives you badges and levels to help motivate you. Nexercise has a gift/rewards component that I have not taken part of yet. Nexercise also has a social element to which I have not taken part either, but the tracking aspect is cool to see your accomplishments.

“Workouts” is a cool app that includes videos that you can watch right on your smartphone. You can choose to target abs, arms, butt, cardio, legs or full workout. The free version is great, you can choose from 10, 20 or 30 min workouts. You can also set an alarm to remind you about working out. This one is fun to do with the kids, you know how they like their gadgets. 

Resource #4

Great YouTube channel

“FitnessBlender” has loads of great intense workouts. I like the ones with Kelli the female workout coach. Go to their website and make sure to check out the  FitnesBlender YouTube Channel. I use it on my smart TV.

Intense workouts of 30 minutes can be very effective. A 1 hour walks or other long workouts are great too. The point is to get moving. 

Resource #5

Below is a cool drink recipe I came up with.  It is healthy and affordable.

Ingredients:

1 banana or 1 cup of blueberries or both

1/4 cup almonds

1/2 cup Go Lean

1 cup plant-based milk

Add a talk glass of ice, a few shakes of cinnamon and all other ingredients in a blender for a yummy, icy, nutty sweet treat.**Note I’m learning that more protein is not necessarily better, especially animal protein. See nutrition links below.

Resource #6

Just for fun I wanted to let you see an example of 5 lbs of fat vs. 5 lbs of muscle. As you can see fat takes up more space. So, your scale may not be an accurate tool to see how you are progressing towards your health goals. How your clothes are fitting and how your energy level has increased is a truer picture of better fitness.

Resource #7

I’ve have recently taken a nutrition course that is very informative and science based. You will be surprized at the research that has gone in to nutrition and how is effects our health. I will include few links below that will talk about diabetes 2, heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer and more of the top killers effected by the “Standard American Diet”

The China Study with T Colin Campbell

This is a nice overview of “The China Study” and the research aspect. This same website has lots of great recipes and personal stories of changing to a plant based diet and how it has improved health.

Chef AJ 

I love all of Chef AJ’s YouTube cooking demos. I really enjoy the ones called: The Chef and the Dietician. Together they make some yummy dishes and have some cool cooking tools to make cooking simple, healthy and fast.

Hope you have a wonderful summer with lots of R & R and peace. 

For Life & Healthy Living,

Dawn

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